


Winter Getaway

by chasethewind



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak wasn't used to the chase. She was just supposed to provide tech support, but this time around, her quick thinking and even quicker fingers were needed to pull off a data heist that would rival the stealing of the Mona Lisa from the Louver. But when it involved running from the Triad through thick, snow covered forest; that's where she drew the line.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter Getaway

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fun one to write! I've got way too many idea floating around in my head currently, so you have to forgive me for finishing one thing at a time.
> 
> Huge thanks to both my betas, hopedreamlovepray and notababoonbrandishingastick, who you can find on Tumblr and write exceptional stories as well. Please go check them out! These girls are the best!
> 
> Disclaimer: My original idea, but I don't own the characters or the show. Just trying to be creative.

She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, only looking back long enough to see if he was still following her through the snow covered forest they'd been stuck in the last few days. Having been dropped off there to complete a mission, luck would prove to be their enemy as one thing after another went wrong. It started off with the small things, like her cell phone going dead, but quickly escalated to worst case scenario status when they'd been discovered by the enemy. They were now being chased through the dense mountains surrounding Starling City in the middle of winter.

Felicity Smoak wasn't used to the chase. She was just supposed to provide tech support, but this time around, her quick thinking and even quicker fingers were needed to pull off a data heist that would rival the stealing of the Mona Lisa from the Louver. But when it involved running from the Triad through thick, snow covered forest; that's where she drew the line. At least she wasn't alone. Her boss, her friend, the vigilante himself, Oliver Queen, was right behind her, snow crunching under his feet as he kept pushing her to keep going.

They were both running, trying to escape the small army of Triad soldiers whose facility Oliver had needed to infiltrate in order to get more information on their dealings in Starling City and why they involved so many of the names on his list. Surveillance equipment had been set up in a small cottage a few miles from the facility, just across a freezing river, and they figured today would be the best day to strike and retrieve the documents he was looking for. Unfortunately, Felicity hadn't planned on her cell phone choking and dying that morning just before they broke into the place, something she decided to deal with later. As long as her tablet was still functional, everything would be okay.

Once inside, she'd managed to download a full terabyte of data onto a secondary hard drive, but not without the occasional hiccup, like guards spotting them. That was Oliver's area of expertise. He managed to disperse them with a few arrows until she was done downloading the rest of the information. Those still left alive had managed to radio their position, and as soon as she'd unplugged the drive, more thugs arrived at their location.

It was a bloody and brutal fight, Oliver taking the brunt of the blows while she remained relatively untouched, crouching behind the desk until he gave her the all clear. When her head popped up, Felicity could see the cuts and bruises already forming on his handsome face beneath the hood, but knew better than to say anything right now. There was an urgent need to get out of this place and fast. Lady luck had chosen to bless them at that moment, allowing them to escape the facility without detection. That didn't mean more soldiers weren't on their tails.

Felicity continued running even though her lungs were beginning to burn the longer she kept going. She was glad to have the adrenaline coursing through her veins, though. It was the only thing keeping her from stopping, aside from the fear of getting shot. She glanced back seeing Oliver was still behind her, his huffing breaths visible in the mid January air. Somewhere off in the distance she could hear water flowing, telling her they were close to escape.

"We're almost there!" Felicity shouted behind her as an old rope bridge came into view. In a matter of minutes they would be upon it, scurrying to the safety of the thick underbrush on the other bank. That's when they'd return to the cottage and call Diggle to get them the hell out of there. But as fate would have it, things would not turn out that easy.

"Keep going, Felicity!" Oliver yelled to her.

Felicity ran just a little faster knowing once they crossed the bridge, their problems would end. Within mere seconds, she managed to reach the first of the old, rotted wood planks that lined the bridge. Without taking another look back, she began to cross, trying not to look down otherwise her fear of heights would overwhelm her just as it had that morning when they first crossed it, Oliver's hand tightly grasped around hers, nudging her forward.

What she wouldn't give to have it be morning again, waking up to beautiful snow covered mountains outside her window thinking the day's task would be a breeze. Oliver had reassured her there wouldn't be much to worry about. He'd scoped the place out the previous night, noting key entry and exit points. What neither one of them had anticipated was the sheer number of guards, soldiers and thugs that littered the place. It was almost as if the Triad had been training their own private army there.

Pushing the errant thoughts out of her mind, Felicity put all her focus on getting to the other side of the bridge. She was halfway across when suddenly one of the planks gave way under her booted foot sending her plummeting down towards the icy river below. It was her worst nightmare coming true.

"Felicity!" she heard Oliver scream above her just before she hit the cold water with a loud splash. Her head quickly dropped below the water line but came up just as fast. She took in a deep gulp of air, stunned at what seemed to have happened instantaneously. Floundering in the water, Felicity prayed that she'd be able to swim to a riverbank, but found it quite hard with the amount of gear he had her carrying that day.

Standing horrified at the spot where she'd fallen into the water, Oliver fixed his gaze on Felicity's body floating downstream as she struggled to keep her head above water. He made a quick decision. Pulling a knife out of his boot, he began cutting through the ropes that held the bridge up knowing it would stop their would-be captors from continuing their pursuit of them.

Oliver quickly sliced through the first of the four ropes, bouncing against the side that remained intact as he worked on the rope below it. Just as it was about to break free, he took hold of the second to last rope as the bridge fell on its side, leaving him hanging above the river. A few seconds later, there was only a single rope left. He sliced through it just as several men in white snow suits approached to witness his daring escape.

Letting go of the rope as the bridge began to fall away, Oliver plunged into the cold water as Felicity had earlier and began swimming in the direction she'd floated. His hope now was he'd reach her before hypothermia set in. The water was near freezing and being in it for longer than a few minutes posed a serious threat to both of them. He used the current to his advantage, allowing it to propel him downstream as he watched Felicity continue to bob up and down.

It didn't take long for Oliver to reach her, and when he did, he was quick to grab hold of her thick down parka and pull her into his chest. Together they floated towards the quickly approaching shore. Only a few strokes to the right and they were on the snow covered bank, shivering but still alive.

"Come on," Oliver said as he grabbed Felicity by her coat and helped her to her feet. She got up but had no success standing on her own. Almost immediately she fell into him, her legs too shaky to keep her upright. With quick reflexes, he caught her in his arms.

"Oliver, I can't," Felicity's voice came out weak as she leaned into him. He could see she was already in the beginning stages of hypothermia, her body too frail to hold her weight as her breaths came out in slow, unsteady pants.

"Yes, you can," Oliver answered, the determination present in his calm voice. He looped an arm around her waist, slowly helping her navigate through the maze of tree limbs and dense underbrush. They struggled over the snow covered ground, searching for the path that led to their cabin.

The walk seemed to take hours but in actuality it was only a few minutes before they found the small game trail that led away from the river towards safety. Felicity's condition continued to deteriorate, and by the time Oliver spotted the cabin in the distance, she was barely clinging to consciousness. Her lithe body couldn't take the cold anymore, but she kept pushing herself. It wasn't until they reached the front steps that she collapsed.

Oliver kicked the door open before scooping her into his arms and quickly carrying her into the warm front room where their surveillance equipment hummed softly. As Felicity began convulsing, he laid her out on the bearskin rug, stripping off her cold, wet clothes until she was down to her underwear. Running into the bedroom, he pulled all the blankets off the bed then hurried back into the front room. After throwing them over her, he proceeded to yank off his own wet clothes, tossing them in the pile.

Slipping beneath the covers, he wrapped his body around hers feeling just how cold she was. It may have been awkward, but Oliver didn't dwell on it. He knew skin to skin contact was the only way to keep Felicity from succumbing to the hypothermia. The convulsions soon lessened as the heat radiating off his body warmed hers, but she still shivered in his arms.

"Everything's going to be okay," Oliver softly whispered into her ear as he stroked her back. The adrenaline had finally begun to wear off, reminding him that he hadn't come out of that facility unscathed. There were cuts and bruises all over his face and contusions all along his ribs, but those could be dealt with later. Right now, it was Felicity who needed him more.

"Oliver," she murmured, "I'm cold." Her eyes were glassy and distant. She was teetering on the edge of consciousness, waiting for permission to fall.

Oliver held her tighter, his arms completely enveloping her small frame as he pulled her into his chest. "Go to sleep, Felicity," he whispered back, watching as her eyes flutter shut.

For several hours he remained wrapped around her, his body providing the heat she so desperately needed until she finally stopped quivering. It was only then that Oliver untangled himself and stood up, the day having faded to night. Moonlight bathed the room in a soft glow as he made his way to the fireplace. Lighting a match he found on the mantle and throwing it into the blocks of wood in the hearth, he knew the risk he was taking, but if it meant saving Felicity's life, he was willing to fight off whoever ended up on their doorstep because of it.

Within minutes, the fire was blazing. It beat back the cold that had seeped into the room once night fell. Oliver returned to her side, wrapping himself around Felicity once more to hold her close as she slept and make sure she was okay. Finding her body temperature had returned to near normal, he sighed. Now that they had finally made it to safety, the tension in his muscles had lessened. She was going to be okay, and by tomorrow afternoon, they'd be back in the comforts of Starling City trying to salvage what they could of the soggy hard drive.

Felicity was a master of technology, though. He had a feeling she'd be able to fix it within a few days and recover some, if not all the data they'd managed to download from the Triad facility. It was one of the many reasons Oliver was glad to have her around. She had also managed to wiggle her way into his heart as well, something he hadn't expected when he'd added her to the team. After months of working together, he should have known his feelings for the feisty blonde would finally surface, and today had proved he cared for her deeply.

Although he hadn't shown it, Oliver had been terrified. He'd been the one to convince her that this mission was going to be a breeze. He'd been the one to bring her out here. He should have kept her safe, but he'd failed. He wanted to berate himself for putting her up to this instead of bringing Diggle with him, but it was already too late for that. What was done was done. Now all he could do was make sure they made it out of the forest alive. He'd call his bodyguard in the morning morning and arrange a pickup for that afternoon.

Burrowing his face into the tangled locks of her golden hair, Oliver closed his eyes and was quickly lulled to sleep by the sound of the logs crackling in the fireplace and her soft breathing. It was near dawn when he finally awakened to her stirring beside him.

Felicity woke up suddenly, the warmth surrounding her becoming almost unbearable. She kicked the covers off her body, ridding herself of some of the excess heat only to find a solid mass kept her from being truly comfortable. Slowly opening her eyes, she realized it was Oliver, his arms wrapped tightly around her as he cracked open those soft blue eyes she adored.

"Felicity," he murmured against the top of her head. A smile spread across Oliver's lips when he found her awake. "Hi," he added, loosening his hold around her waist. Glancing around, he noticed the first few strands of daylight peeking through the windows.

That smile… It had a way of melting her heart. Seeing it on his face right now made her return one of her own as she gazed up at him. "Oliver," she breathed only to find her lungs burning in the process. Felicity began coughing suddenly as she tried to expel whatever water remained in them. He gently stroked her back, soothing her until she stopped and looked up. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Oliver replied, smiling back at her. "I'm just glad you're awake."

His hand came up to stroke her cheek and she closed her eyes, relishing in the intimacy of the moment. Yesterday's adrenaline rush was being quickly countered by the calming effect the touch of Oliver's hand had on her. Her body ached from the lingering effects of the icy cold water. Just moving made her wince, and as she stretched out, Felicity realized exactly how intimate things had become between them during the night. She was cuddled up against Oliver in only her underwear.

Felicity froze, her eyes popping open as she stared up at him. His smile only widened as he chuckled, "I swear, nothing happened." Oliver stroked her cheek as her face instantly turned a deep shade of red. "Look, if I'd left you in those cold, wet clothes, you might have…" His face suddenly fell when he realized what he'd nearly said.

The sleep induced giddiness had quickly been replaced by the wide awake and brooding Oliver she'd come to know very well. Felicity's heart sank. She hated seeing him like this, but once he found himself in that place, it would take patience and reasoning to get him out.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Oliver continued, his voice low and sullen. He was pulling his arms away from her. The sudden the loss of contact made her feel cold, and not just physically. "I should have been better prepared for what the Triad was doing out here. I should have kept you hacking into their surveillance feed instead of just going out there for a look. Had I known there would be that many people crawling all over the facility, I never would have had you come with me."

"Oliver," Felicity sighed. Reaching up, she placed her hand over his and laced their fingers together. "You can't beat yourself up over this. We've had missions go wrong before."

"But I nearly lost you this time." Oliver's voice was barely above a whisper, and if she hadn't been so close to him, she probably wouldn't have heard him. But the pain in his eyes was palpable. She knew the toll it took, his determination to keep her safe. Falling through an old rickety bridge didn't help temper his fears, though.

"But you didn't," Felicity whispered back, gently squeezing his fingers. The tight smile that appeared on his face didn't ease her guilt for putting herself in such a situation. She knew where his mind was going and quickly added, "We're here now, and we're safe. You don't need to keep dwelling on the past. Just use it as a lesson for the future. The next time you need to infiltrate some secret Triad compound, we'll do a lot more surveillance first and then we strike. And we won't be crossing any rickety old bridges either. Okay?"

Oliver nodded, the tightness in his smile lessening as his thumb drew circles over her hand. "Okay," he replied. "I still feel bad, though. The hard drive is probably ruined. All that work… All that hell…"

"Do you seriously remember who you're talking to?" Felicity quipped as her mouth quirked up in a smile. "Give me a bag of rice, a few gallons of coffee, several boxes of takeout and a couple of days and I should be able to salvage it, even though it went through what I imagine would be the spin cycle of a washing machine."

"And this, Felicity, is why you're so remarkable," Oliver said. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She did her best not to blush, but it was hard, especially with the sudden onslaught of feelings that came tumbling to the forefront of her mind when his lips fell to her skin. God, those lips… Felicity wondered what they would feel like against her own. Would they be soft and gentle or rough and demanding? Sighing, she figured there might never be a chance to find out until her brain reminded her that she may have died from hypothermia had it not been for Oliver and his quick thinking.

A thank you kiss? Felicity mulled it over for less than a second before making the decision to go for it. If this near death experience had taught her anything, it was to get what you wanted and never look back. So she went for it. As Oliver pulled away, her hand fell to his cheek, caressing it softly as she tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his. He froze immediately until he realized what was happening, then his arms wrapped around her waist again, pulling her into his chest as she sighed softly.

This was much better than Felicity could have imagined. His lips were soft and gentle at first, tentatively kissing back until a soft moan escaped her throat. They became rough and demanding as Oliver's right hand fell across her neck and pulled her forward while the left splayed over the small of her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes shut tight as she tried to take in all the sensations at once.

The rapid beat of her heart thundering in her ears made it hard for Felicity to hear anything aside from the gentle sighs and soft moans coming from the man beside her. His fingers sank into her skin, pulling her flush against his chest as he devoured her mouth with desperate kisses. When they trailed down to her panty clad behind and gave it a soft squeeze, she instantly snapped back to reality.

Felicity pulled away suddenly, her breaths coming in short pants as she stared at Oliver, who also seemed slightly shocked and thrown off kilter by what had just happened. His hand had returned to the small of her back where it lay unmoving but still very present, his fingers tense against her skin. The look in his eyes was telling, though. It spoke of lust and passion before he looked away.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

It took her a moment to reorganize her thoughts, but once they had been catalogued and compartmentalized, Felicity took a deep gulp of air before pulling herself out of Oliver's grasp. She excused herself and practically ran to the bathroom. The door closed with a gentle click as she leaned against it, her hand smoothing back long strands of blonde hair that had fallen into her face. Just when she thought this trip couldn't get any crazier, that had to happen.

Felicity sighed and pushed herself off the door. Taking a look in the mirror, the sight of her disheveled hair and puffy lips startled her. The hair was understandable; she'd slept in wet from the river all night. It was bound to look this horrific in the morning. But her lips… those were the result of her little make out session with Oliver just seconds ago. She brought her fingers up and touched them softly, closing her eyes to relive that moment over and over.

This had been the stupidest yet most rewarding experience of Felicity's short life. Kissing Oliver Queen had been just as amazing as she'd imagined, but how far it had gone still bothered her. Yes, she'd initiated the kiss, but he'd been the one to deepen it and take it well past kissing. She was so not ready for the implications of what that meant.

Taking one more deep breath before she left the safety of the bathroom, Felicity pulled the door open and stepped back into the front room. Oliver was standing there almost dressed and glanced in her direction when she approached. His eyes were cold and distant, a look he got when he was all work and no play. It was a far cry from the passionate gaze she'd seen only minutes earlier.

'Good job, Smoak,' she inwardly cursed. 'First you nearly scare him to death by falling into an icy river then you go and stomp on his heart.'

"Oliver, I…" Felicity started to say, but he was quick to cut her off.

"We've got half an hour to pack up before Diggle gets here," he said pointedly, turning towards the aluminum cases that are lined up against the wall beside the door. Even his tone was cold making the room seem as if it was below freezing as she stood there in her underwear.

Felicity turned and headed to the bedroom where her duffle bag had been stashed under the bed. There was no time for a shower so she grabbed one of the sweaters she'd worn the previous day along with a pair of blue jeans and boots. After putting them on, she reached for the case that held her glasses. Having worn contacts for the past two days, she was glad to be able to take them out now that this mission was finally over.

Slipping the rims onto her nose, Felicity felt a slight sense of normalcy finally creeping in. It still didn't make up for the guilt she felt over hurting Oliver, something she decided to deal with as soon as she returned to the front room. Grabbing her bag along with his, she padded towards the bearskin rug and set everything down at her booted feet. He was almost done packing away the surveillance equipment, ignoring her as the last computer monitor was slipped into its case and locked away for the trip home.

'Okay, two can play that game,' Felicity thought as she rifled through the pile of clothes beside the fireplace, finding the damp sweater and jeans she'd worn the day before and stuffing them into her bag. She left Oliver's clothes and her parka on the floor and waited until he stacked the last case by the door and turned to face her.

"I'm sorry," Felicity said as she wrung her hands out in front of her. Oliver merely stared at her, his expression impassive. It made her even more nervous as they stood there in complete silence, her apology still hanging in the air. Needing to fill the space, she blabbed, "I didn't mean for that to happen. Well, no, I  _did_  mean for it to happen, just not like that. I wasn't expecting to get so caught up kissing you even though, of all the people I've kissed, you've certainly been the best…"

"Felicity," he replied, stopping her mid reverie before she listed off every single guy whose lips had met hers. She stared up at him as he closed the distance between them until there were just inches apart. "Why did you kiss me?" Oliver's voice was soft and inquisitive, devoid of the sharpness it had taken on a few minutes earlier.

"Because I wanted to… I wanted to thank you, for saving my life again," she stammered.

Oliver found himself smiling as he watched the red flush return to Felicity's cheeks. It tempered the sting of her earlier rejection, but he was by no means the innocent party. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he said, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have let instinct kick in."

Felicity gazed up at him, her eyebrow quirking up. "So your instincts tell you to grab a girl's ass when you're making out with her?" she teased, her lips quivering up in a smile.

"Old habits die hard," Oliver replied. Felicity began to laugh as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself into his chest. His hands trailed up to cup her face. "Maybe we should try this again," he suggested.

"I dunno," Felicity mused, "The last time it kinda turned into a disaster."

"What if this time I promise to keep my hands above your waist if you promise not to run away?"

"I promise," she whispered, tipping her chin up.

Running his thumbs over her cheeks, Oliver leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Again, Felicity sighed as her eyes slipped closed and she relaxed into his touch. Although this kiss wasn't as heated as the first had been, the electricity was still there crackling between them like the logs in the fireplace. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands stayed firmly on her hips.

Breathless, they pulled away, their foreheads pressing against each other as Felicity sucked her lower lips between her teeth and smiled. "Much better," she said, softly stroking the back of his neck. The smile he returned was brighter than any she'd ever seen before. It reminded her of some photos she'd seen of him pre-island and she realized she wanted to continue seeing this smile on his face because it made him look lighter, as if the weight on his shoulders had been lifted, even briefly.

As she pulled him down for one more kiss, the sound of a wheels crunching over snow covered ground caught Oliver's attention. His head shot up and his muscles coiled, ready for attack as he looked out the window and spied a black Range Rover Evoque pulling into the driveway. Growling in frustration, he let go of Felicity. But she didn't let go of him. Standing on the tips of her toes, she placed one final, tender kiss to his lips before her arms slid away from his neck.

"We'll continue this later," Felicity said, grabbing their bags off the bearskin rug and heading outside. She gave him a soft smile as she made her way to the door.

Oliver returned her smile, and for the first time in a really long time, he felt his body relax as he wondered how the promise of continuing their kiss brought him so much peace. It came down to the simple fact that his feelings for Felicity weren't one sided. She had feelings for him as well, feelings that went far beyond friendship.

Grabbing the rest of the gear, Oliver took one last look around at the cabin and the bearskin rug where so much had happened. He was going to have to rent this place out more often.


End file.
